Now that many are enjoying a higher income than under Saddam, thousands of Iraqis regularly pack shops throughout the country to check their e-mail, chat and surf – despite fears that any public place can be attacked.

Plugged in

A few years ago, Ammar Adnan knew almost nothing about what was going on in the world of karate. But now Adnan, who heads Iraq’s karate federation, is in contact with groups across the world, closely following events and championships wherever they occur.

“I do much of my work on the Internet,” said the well-built Adnan, after checking his e-mail Friday at a cafe in eastern Baghdad.

“I contact the International Karate Organization from here. It is very simple, unlike before when it was extremely difficult to get in touch,” he said, referring to bad telephone lines and slow mail service during Saddam’s rule.

Watch for bombs

Three months after the fall of Saddam, al-Rubei Internet Cafe became one of Baghdad’s first private companies, and ever since, business has been doing well, said manager Jarir Majid.

“The idea came when we thought that we wanted to do something with this shop, something that people needed,” said Majid, as most of the 50 computers in his shop were in use. “The Internet is great. It is sad that Iraqis were deprived of this technology.”

His business did fall off last year when a car bomb exploded nearby, causing damage to his shop, but it has since bounced back.

Life in the dark age

Before Saddam’s ouster, from the 10th floor of what used to be the Ministry of Information building in central Baghdad, members of Saddam’s intelligence agency worked around the clock blocking Web sites, e-mails and chat rooms.

The last thing the former regime wanted in this tightly controlled police state was people chatting with outsiders or entering anti-Saddam Web sites operated by exiled Iraqis.

“Intelligence officers used to monitor sites, and whenever they found a suspicious domain they used to block it,” said Atheer Hassan, who used to work as a part-time technician with the Ministry of Information. Now, he runs his own Internet business, selling connections to people in their homes.

Under Saddam, at a time when most people made only a few dollars a month, few people could afford the annual Internet fee from the government of about $500. E-mails were only available through the ministry, meaning they were read by intelligence agents.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.